Today in the concluding part of our series focusing on the similarities of the Church of the bygone Covenant (Acts 7:38) and the One of the Present Covenant, we shall train the spotlight on the following sub-topics…
Draw…
Having compared ourselves to our Old Testament counterparts all along, how about now hitting a related loop line of “methodology” to win our Jewish “friends” to the Lord? In a way, don’t we owe our salvation to them (“for salvation comes through the Jews…” John 4:22-23)? And the best way to say “thanks” would be to lead them to a “Messiah-oriented” Salvation!
One way to draw them to Christ through an exercise born out of love and respect that causes them to become “plain jealous”. Seem confusing? Let me explain: In our interactions, we need to let them notice the “X” factor (the perpetual joy and peace of the indwelling Holy Spirit) which distinguishes us from them. Don’t the Scriptures even say that our Heavenly Father will use the “jealousy” factor to draw them to their Messiah? “Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves.” (Rom 11:11 NLT). Whilst for them the “Kingdom of God” is an “expectation” (which the Messiah would usher in one day), we need to prayerfully tell them with love, both through our lip and our lives, that for us it is already an “experience” courtesy of the same Messiah who has placed His Spirit within us (Rom 14:17). Then we need to commit them to prayer that God’s Spirit will help them to see and understand truth.
Delight…
Dear friends, In conclusion, all I would like to say is that we should always delight in the Lord: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” (Ps. 37:4 NLT), even while preserving with perseverance our right relationship with the One who loves us the most:“Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Phil. 2:12-13 NLT). Nothing quite like being the Jews during King David’s reign! Besides constituting the “Golden age” of Jewish spiritual history, this was also a pointer to the coming Millennial age, when David’s son, the Messiah, will rule on Planet Earth, and “God’s will would be done on Earth as it is in Heaven” for most of the time. The Christian equivalent of David’s reign would be the “ideal settings” that could be seen in the Early Jerusalem Church (See Acts 2:37 – Acts 5), or the one in Antioch (Acts 11:19-30/Acts 13:1-3/Acts 14:24-27/Acts 15:22-35), which were also pointers to the near-perfect conditions that would prevail during the Millennial age (See Rev. 20:1-6). Even in 2019, let’s endeavour to be in those conditions, “in spirit”. There is nothing quite like spiritual travel “back in time” for the better!
Prayer: Father, strengthen us with thy indwelling Spirit even as we wait with eager anticipation for the time when Your will would be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen
Suresh Manoharan
An unworthy servant
J and SM Ministries